Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) men’s 2nd XI were edged out 2-1 when they entertained Taunton Civil Service 1st XI.

The first half of the match was a one-sided affair, dominated by SOHC, but, despite their control, the only goal they had to show for their efforts was a nicely taken drag flick from Dan Devine.

The second half saw Taunton add greater tempo to their game and they scored twice to take the points.

For SOHC there was an impressive debut from Gabe Cortinhas, who combined well with fellow midfield players Treeve Harris and John Dutton and the three worked well throughout.

SOHC men’s third team went down 3-1 against ECV. What is a new-look third XI this season, SOHC took the lead with a Matt Offer-Hoare strike, but persistent pressure eventually told and ECV deservedly took the points.

There were fine performances for SOHC from Jasper Chun, Ben Harrison, Matt Jeacock and James Plant, who all put in fine shifts.

SOHC men’s fourth team went down to a heavy defeat at Taunton Civil Service where they shipped five goals in the first half and six more after the break!

Simply getting a side out proved a huge challenge for the fourth XI skipper who was faced with nearly two teams’ worth of players unavailable for the noon start!